Patience paying off in the transfer market for Nottingham Forest boss Dougie Freedman

HUCKNALL Six-A-Side League update.

Published:07:00Saturday 22 August 2015

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Dougie Freedman believes his patience in signing the right player for Nottingham Forest is paying off, following the capture of Kyle Ebecilio.

The former Arsenal midfielder joins the Reds on a season long loan from Dutch side FC Twente and Freedman says the 21-year-old was worth the wait.

Freedman said: “It has been a positive few days for us. I think when you are patient and you take your time with things, amid this chaotic window, good things will happen.

“I have watched Kyle play plenty of times when he was at Arsenal, he has been at FC Twente for a couple of seasons and has picked up some valuable experience there.

“He is a real hard worker, he knows the English game, and he is a good technician as well.

“He is enthusiastic, he can handle the ball, he has power and pace, he can score goals – he is an all round good player. He has good pedigree from Arsenal and speaks good English.

“I am building the lad up here a lot, but he is an exciting player and we worked so hard to get him here.

“If you ask me what the inside of Amsterdam airport looks like, I can give you a pretty good description of it, because I have been through it a few times over the last month or two, in an effort to get this done.

He added: “I am only interested in signing good, hungry players. I waited for this kid because he is a good player. Now we have got him, he will fit in nicely.”

The addition of Ebecilio came in the wake of Forest chairman Fawaz Al Hasawi confirming on Twitter that club captain Henri Lansbury will remain at the City Ground despite a £4m bid from Burnley.

“I am not surprised, because it was our decision,” said Freedman. “We discussed it and we made the decision.

“The offer was on the table but I spoke to the chairman on Tuesday night, after the game, and we weighed everything up.

“There was the financial aspect of it, the prospect of losing our captain – we weighed everything up. We came to the decision that we had better keep him here.

“The chairman saw Henri and explained the situation we are in and also spoke to him about what we would like to do, moving forwards.

“Now we can put this whole thing to bed.

“I have a good relationship with Henri. He is a model professional. He has been fantastic for me on and off the field.”

Brief conversations took place with free agent Joey Barton but it is unlikely to amount to anything, said Freedman who stated Michail Antonio is ready to play once more after leaving him out midweek amid interest from Derby County.

He added: “Michail has been back training with the lads, he is fine, there are no problems at all. The issues that were there seem to have gone away.

“He has trained with us and he is up for selection tomorrow. You get emotional and I have been in this business as a player and a manager. Sometimes you can get emotional.

“I just felt that, on Tuesday, his mind was not on the game. So we gave young Oliver his debut. But he has trained well and he will be in the squad at Bolton.”

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